


it’s you again

by zarapjms



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M, Future Fic, Hurt/Comfort, Lots of Crying, iris is depressed, nora is a daddy’s girl, this is so sad, tornado twins - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-29
Updated: 2018-07-29
Packaged: 2019-06-18 05:36:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15478782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zarapjms/pseuds/zarapjms
Summary: Barry from 2018 visits Iris from 2036.





	it’s you again

**Author's Note:**

> this is literally so sad for no reason sjkdkd i’m just in constant depression hours for them :( i miss them a lot and i wanted to write this sad one shot so i could stop being so sad abt them!! anyway, enjoy this :)

“You have to go faster, Barry!” Iris yelled over the comms, scared that the monster behind him would catch him.

“I’m trying!”

“Oh god, it’s coming, it’s literally one-”

Barry opened his closed eyes, skidding to a stop. He looked around, frowning. He wasn’t in Central City anymore.

“Iris?”

The comms didn’t work. Barry sighed. He ran to the nearest sign to read what it said.

“Welcome to Central City.”

So he was still in Central City.. But why did the comms not work, then? And where in Central City was he, exactly?

And when the fuck did it get so dark outside?

He looked around once again, speeding over to the nearest signs to get a feel of where he was.

And then, it clicked. It was still Central City. The comms didn’t work. Barry couldn’t see any civilians around. He was in the future, or the past.

He sped toward the highway he knew all too well, following it home. He looked up at the loft. The lights were still on. He ran up the side of a building nearby to see if he could look inside. And yup, Iris was inside.

So it must be the future, then.

He ran back to the ground, unsure what to do. He didn’t have nearly enough energy to run back to his time. Especially not with the monster running after him.

He stood there, contemplating what to do, until a voice behind him rang out. “Raise your hands and turn around slowly. Do not attempt to- B-Barry?”

Barry faced Wally, who looked a lot older. Not in a bad way, but since Barry last saw him, he looked older. Wally sped forward, hugging Barry tightly.

Barry hugged him back, frowning slightly. Wally’s shoulders began to shake, and Barry understood that he was crying. He heard his quiet sobs and felt his heart break.

“Hi, Wally. What’s wrong?”

“You… you’re.. you’re here.”

Barry nodded, pulling back slightly to look Wally in the eyes. “I am. By accident.”

Wally hummed, wiping his eyes. “That much, I got. I just- I missed you.”

“Missed me? Why? What happened?”

Wally sighed. “I shouldn’t tell you this, but.. You - you in 2024, that is – disappeared, Barry. We all thought you died, but recently found out you’re only gone. We’re waiting every day for you to come back, but it’s been twelve years.. And you’re still not here. We miss you, so much. It’s hard without you around. Everyone gave up on Team Flash when you disappeared. Caitlin went full killer frost, I haven’t seen or heard from her since. Cisco went to Earth-19, to join Cynthia. And my dad.. He misses you so much, Barry. I catch him looking at pictures of you every day. He acts like he doesn’t cry, but he does.”

Barry wiped away his tears, his voice shaky. “That sounds terrible.. I didn’t know- I- How’s Iris?”

Wally shook his head. “Bad, Barry. She’s.. trying to be strong, but it’s hard. You know, she’s still stubborn as ever. She goes to work every day, pays the bills right on time, and even helps me sometimes. But without you.. she hasn’t smiled in years, Barry. It’s been twelve years since I last saw her smile. She refuses to move out, though. She says no matter how much pain the loft brings her, the memories she had with you in there overpower the pain. I- My sister really loves you, Barry. She still does. She doesn’t talk with any of us anymore, but I always come to check up on her.”

Barry looked up at the loft again, his heart breaking. Iris, his lovely, beautiful wife, was suffering. And he couldn’t be there to help her through it. Because it was about him. He felt so bad, not only because he left her so abruptly, but because she couldn’t find it in herself to move on.

“Did you know? She.. Uh.. I shouldn’t be telling you this, actually, but fuck it. She was pregnant, when you disappeared. She was pregnant with twins. She’d talked with you about their names before, so she named them the exact way you wanted them to be named. Nora West-Allen and Don West-Allen. They’re eleven, actually. I always take them to school and back.”

Barry’s breath had caught in his throat the second he heard Iris was pregnant, and he let out a quite loud sob. Wally pulled him into his arms, hugging him tightly. Wally’s voice was wobbly. “I’m so sorry, man. I know it’s hard. But they love and adore you, I swear. They always make me tell them stories about you and I, about how we fought together to take many people down.”

Barry sniffed and pulled back. “Can I see Iris? Or the twins? Do you think that’ll disturb the timeline?”

Wally contemplated it for a second. “As long as nobody else sees you, I don’t think so.”

Barry let out a shaky breath. “I’m going to go up there, then.”

“Do you want me to come with you?”

Barry turned back to Wally, “Yes, please. Maybe you could enter first.”

Wally nodded and sped up the stairs, with Barry following close behind.

When they arrived at the apartment, Barry started getting nervous. “Do you think she’ll scream?”

“No, she expects surprise visits.”

Wally knocked on the door, and it swung open a few seconds later.

Barry didn’t know what to expect from Iris, but she didn’t look any different than how he last saw her. She didn’t age one bit in those twelve years. There were some tired wrinkles around her eyes, but that was it. She looked amazing, and Barry had a hard time not kissing her.

Wally glanced at Barry before entering. Just when Iris was about to close the door, Barry appeared at the doorway.

Iris let out a very loud gasp, almost a scream. “Ba- Ba- Barry.. I-It’s him. Wally, it’s him!” Iris pulled Barry inside as quickly as she could, locking the door behind him. Barry’s eyes welled up with tears when he saw nothing changed, except the couch was made up as bed.

“Barry.. You’re obviously not my Barry, but you’re here. You’re here and you’re real. Wally, he’s real. He’s actually here.” Iris couldn’t stop talking, mainly to conceal the fact that tears were streaming down her face like a waterfall.

“I-I’m here.”

Iris hesitated on touching Barry once again, sobbing quite loudly. Then she lost her balance, her eyes closing. Barry sped forward and caught her before she collapsed, putting her down on the couch. She felt even lighter than before, which was a bad sign. He looked at Wally, who just looked shocked, and tried to help Iris wake up.

“I’ve never seen her cry like that.”

Barry stopped trying to wake Iris up, instead looked at Wally. “What do you mean?”

“She- she just let it all go. She never cries like that. Even at your.. funeral, she never cried like that. I- I feel so bad for her.”

Barry’s eyes softened, and he motioned for Wally to come closer. Wally crouched down next to Barry, sighing as he stroked Iris’ hair. Barry kissed Iris’ forehead, lingering, breathing in her scent.

“I wish I got to tell her just how much I love her before I left.”

“You kind of did. We just heard you yell “As long as I think of Iris, I’ll be alright” over the comms before you began screaming.”

Barry looked over at Wally, pained. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s not your fault, Barry. It definitely isn’t.”

Barry looked back at Iris, at her face. She looked disturbed in her sleep. “I still feel guilty. Future me should have known Iris was pregnant.”

Wally shook his head. “It’d be impossible for you to have known. Iris didn’t find out until a few months after you disappeared that she was pregnant.”

Barry sighed, his heart breaking even more.

“Uncle Wally?” A small voice and tiny feet padding against the floor sounded throughout the living room. Barry’s head snapped up, and he felt the urge to blur his head, but Wally shook his head while looking at him.

Barry let Iris’ hand go, standing up.

Wally stood up as well, walking over to Nora to pick her up. Nora looked at Barry with wide eyes.

“Are you The Flash? Like daddy?”

Barry had to squeeze his eyes shut and look away. He had a daughter he never got to raise.

He walked from behind the couch to where Wally stood with Nora. He put Nora back on the ground, urging her to get closer to Barry.

“Yeah, sweetie, like your daddy.”

Nora smiled, stepping even closer to Barry. “My daddy’s name was Barry. What’s yours?”  
Barry swallowed hard, “Um.” He looked up at Wally, who urged him to say it.

“Barry.”

Nora’s eyes lit up. “Like my daddy! Are you my daddy?”

Barry sighed, letting Nora sit on his lap. He nodded. “But don’t tell anyone, okay?”

Nora acted like she zipped her mouth shut, her arms flying around Barry’s neck. Barry hugged her back tightly, rubbing her back.

“Mom misses you, daddy. She always says “I wish I saw him once more before he left”. Are you ever going to come back?”

Barry shrugged, still hugging Nora. “I don’t know, baby. Maybe. You just keep hoping, okay? Daddy will come back earlier if you keep hoping.”

Nora pulled back, her tiny hands framing Barry’s face. Barry’s eyes shone with unshed tears. “Daddy, I want to say that I love you very much. Don loves you too. He always says he wants to be you when he grows up.”

Barry smiled through his tears, letting them flow freely. Nora wiped his face as best as she could, hugging Barry again. “Tell mom you love her too, daddy. Maybe she will smile.”

Barry nodded, kissing Nora’s cheek. “I will. Don’t you have school tomorrow? You should go to bed.”

Nora looked at Barry with hopeful eyes. “Are you gonna stay?”

“I can’t, but I’ll leave you a gift for when you wake up, how about that?”

Nora squealed excitedly, standing up. She pulled Barry with her to her room. “Can you tuck me in?”

Barry nodded, tucking her in carefully, kissing her forehead. Her eyes closed, but she squeezed Barry’s hand. “I love you, daddy.”

Barry smiled, wiping at his face. “I love you too, Nora.”

He walked out of her room quietly, joining Wally once again. “She looks so much like Iris.”

“She does. She has her personality traits too.”

Barry nodded, looking at Iris again. Iris’ eyes fluttered open, and she sat up as quickly as she could. Barry smiled slightly, sitting down next to her instead. Iris immediately hugged him, holding him close.

“I lost you, Barry. My rock. I lost you.”

Barry hugged her back, closing his eyes. “I’m sorry, Iris.”

“Don’t be. I just can’t get your screams out of my head. I wanted to help you so badly. But I couldn’t. Your screams stopped and I thought you were fine, but instead, you disappeared. We still have no idea where you are. I’m- You told me that I’d be fine without you, but the truth is, I wouldn’t. I’m not. You mean so much to me, Barry.” Iris pulled back to grab Barry’s hands, tears streaming down her face.

“I lost you so many times, I can’t keep count anymore. It seems like every time I’m happy with you, something happens to ruin that. And I just- I just wanted to tell you that-” Iris’ voice cracked, so she cleared her throat. “I love you, Barry, and I always will. Those children in there? They love you too. You’re their hero just as much as you are mine. And I’m so grateful for every moment that we had together.”

Barry smiled, resting his forehead against his. “I know it won’t be quite the same as your Barry telling you this, but I feel just the same. I love you, Iris. And even though you live about twenty years in the future, I’m one hundred percent sure that still hasn’t changed. You’re the girl of my dreams, whether it be past me, me now, or future me. And he will come back to you, somehow, in some way. Don’t give up on him.”

Iris nodded, unable to say much. “Thank you.”

“Of course. I should really be heading back, though. My Iris is probably worried sick.”

Iris stood up, walking him to the door of the loft. “Hey, Barry, before you go…”

Wally stepped outside to give them some privacy. Barry looked at Iris expectantly. She kissed him quickly, not wanting to make it weird for the both of them. Barry smiled. “He will be back. I promise.”

Iris rubbed his face, sighing. “I hope you’re right.”

Barry nodded. “I am. Good bye, Iris. Take care of yourself and the twins, okay?”

Iris nodded. “Okay. Bye, Barry. I’ll miss you.”

Barry almost left, but then remembered something. “Wait! Before I go, give..” Barry pulled a piece of paper from one of the pockets in his suit, handing it to Iris. “..this to Nora.”

“What’s this?”

“Just a little note I wrote for her while you slept.”

Iris put it on the chair next to the door. “I’ll give it to her. Thanks for checking up on me, by the way, Wally. Both of you, be careful out there.”

They nodded, Barry reluctant to go. Iris gave him one last sad smile, a silent good bye, and then closed the door.

While Wally helped Barry run back to his own time, Iris read the little note.

“To: Nora  
From: Barry (or your daddy)

Hi, pumpkin. I know gifts are usually something like toys, but I don’t have time to buy toys. But, I left you this note, so you could remember everything.

I love you, Nora. I love Don, too. I don’t know you at all, but both of you are going to grow up to be amazing people. And I’m sorry I won’t be there to witness it, but your mom will. So share everything with her, like you’d share with me. Be her rock while I can’t be.

And take care of her, too, alright? Make sure she eats well, does everything she would do if daddy would be there, and keeps contact with grandpa (I think you call him paw paw) and uncle Wally. Can you do that for me?

Anyway, I really have to go now, but I promise I will be back one day. Good bye, Nora, take care.

\- Barry”

Iris put the piece of paper down beside her, crying quietly into her hands.

Barry was right. No matter how much it hurt her to think of having to move on, she had to. Not with a new partner, but with her life. And she just had to hold on to the thought of Barry possibly coming back.

Because he would be, and until then, she would go on with her life like she would if he still were with her.

Thank you Barry, she thought, for being the man that I love.


End file.
